Biking the Georgian Bay

"At middle age the soul should be opening up like a rose,
not closing up like a cabbage." - Anonymous













My friends said, when you turned FIFTY  you will notice many changes, the list they gave me was not encouraging or inspiring:
Weight gain, thinning greying hair, decreased sexual function, memory loss, joint pain, lethargic,
incontinence, and the dreaded wrinkles.
Granted I have experienced much of these to some degree.
The changes they forgot to mention were: A loss of the fear of dying, I have come to accept and look forward to my final address on one of those golden streets.

In place of fear I have gained an insatiable hunger for adventure. Richer more meaningful friendships. The abandon of the fear to be open and honest with my opinions. Increased patience for small children, mixed with the delight at the sound of a baby's laughter.
A greater appreciation for others has allowed me to look and listen more closely, God and creation are now luminous.

A good change in diet brought on by an appreciation for fresh grown foods- many I now have time to produce by my own hand.

The flowers I was too busy to notice with the business of youth now bloom more brightly.

The wind blowing through my hair as I bike along the bay feels fresher.

Sharing a good book while I sip coffee in the company of some one I love gives me more peace than I could have imagined when I was young.

Those days were branded weariness from a hurried days work ending with only the energy to flick the TV on and mindless sink into a hypnotic state of slumber before rushing into the next hectic day.

My friend Ginger a notable glass artist, celebrated the start of her fith inning by signing up for the challenge to swim the bay in the annual Eddie Sargent memorial across the bay swim in
67degree water.





Eric Thiessen suits up with Ginger Smith For the Eddt Seargant Annual Swim Across The Bay at Owen Sound, August 2009



The interview with Ginger was featured in the Owen Sound Sun Times on Aug. 10 2009.
Good for you Ginger!



Let me know how you are celebrating the latter innings of your life?
Linda Thiessen

Fear, A fence or freeway to Courage

I watched two younger graceful women take the knotted nylon rope that hung carelessly from the large tree bent over the crystal clear lake. The men eager to coach as each woman took a deep breath and gracefully swung into the air then let go slicing the water as gracefully as they had sailed through the air.


The knot in my throat as big as the knots in the old frayed rope, my turn, it doesn’t look safe what if it breaks I questioned in a panic? Nonsense replied my husband, all of us had our swing and it’s held strong. Sensing my fear he coached me, hold on to the top knot tightly, back up as far as you can from the edge to get a good run at it. Remember -let go after you pass the sharp rocks that line the shore- aim at the hole just beyond the edge of that shallow shelf.

What shallow shelf? Peering down I realized the water looked no deeper than two feet deep until sloping into blackness fifteen feet from the cliff edge.

My heart pounding and my hands sweaty I backed up, thoughts of Joni Eareckson Tada flashed across my mind.

How do I narrow all life events down to one that’s above the others in the emotional change it made to my life?

Leaving home at sixteen, choosing my own journey and faith, falling in love, getting married, having children, going to college after raising children. A mission trip into the jungle of Dominica were formed amid great emotion yet none of these challenged me in the way swinging off that rope into the icy waters of Lake Kagawong did in 2005.

It was early one July morning, my husband/best friend was up at dawn and came to report his morning events which included meeting friends, started a cycling club, and organizing a schedule to explore the back roads and trails of the island. I was invited to come along but first I had to pass the initiation test.- go to the cliff prove my courage and good spirit of adventure by taking the rope then swing off and dropping into the lake.

A group of gang members gathered on the cliff, two other female recruits among them. This was not the kind of experience I relished. I am a grounded person; I don’t participate in dares or take actions that might threaten my life having an audience increased the tension Terrified I volunteered to go last…

 I could hear the gang cheering me on, you can do it, don’t be afraid, go for it they shouted-the sweat of my palms lubricated the rope, as I thrust my weight over the ledge my body slid over one knot after another. Drop now, quick let go I heard the group shout, so I did! 





Granny Swinger

Enclosed in icy water sinking deep into the black hole, relief washed over me, I did it and am alive! Kicking my feet I bobbed to the surface to congratulations and cheers- Something changed in me. As I nursed my rope burned hands I was aware of a sense of fearlessness.

Now I am up early, eager to face whatever challenge set before me with adrenalin not fear, yes rope jumping became one of my favorite things to do. My husband comments on the courageous woman I have become.

Since then we have recruited several others, now I am one of the cheerleaders offering gloves to every new comer while recounting how this simple act of courage changed me forever.

Linda Thiessen